Vayishlach (Genesis 32 - 36) GOOD MORNING! Now in its eighth week, the war in Israel continues to rage on while dominating the hearts and minds of Jews all over the world (as well as the international media). Last week’s announcement of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, primarily a temporal cessation of military activity and the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of some hostages, highlights some of the more difficult aspects of the war. As I have written previously, this war has only bad options and worse options. On the one hand, there has been intense pressure on the Israeli government to effectuate the return of the hostages. Last week, tens of thousands marched along with many of the families of the hostages in a massive demonstration demanding that the government do whatever it takes to return the hostages back home to their families. The raw emotion around this situation is understandable, of course. Everyone with a heart empathizes with the pain and suffering of these families. On the other hand, as soon as you start paying a blackmailer the extortion never ends. In 2006 Hamas captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and held him for 5 years. Ultimately, he was released in exchange for Israel releasing over one thousand Arab prisoners – primarily jailed terrorists. In fact, some of the Hamas leaders responsible for the murderous attacks of October 7th were released by Israel in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. But the Shalit exchange wasn’t the first time Israel made such a lopsided exchange, in 1985 they exchanged three imprisoned Israelis for 1,150 Arab prisoners. There were similar deals in the 1970’s as well. Both recent and past history and the events of October 7th remind us of the stark difference between the Jewish values and perspective on the sanctity of life and, in a strong contrast, the Arab mentality of valuing “martyrdom” and murder merely to make a point. Historically, even when Israel finds it necessary to attack an enemy, they do whatever they can to minimize loss of life. Some forty years ago, on June 7, 1981, the State of Israel launched Operation Opera (aka Operation Babylon) – a surprise attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor located about 11 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The strike was executed to protect the long-term security of the State of Israel with the hope of preventing Iraq from developing nuclear weapons. Yehuda Zvi Blum, Israel’s delegate to the UN, in a speech to the UN Security Council following the attack, explained that the operation was launched on a Sunday afternoon to minimize casualties. They planned it with the presumption that workers present on the site, including foreign experts employed at the reactor, would have already left for the day. Still, even with their precautions, there were some casualties; ten Iraqi soldiers and one French civilian perished in the attack. (Of course, at the time, no one appreciated the massive achievement of preventing Iraq from becoming a nuclear power. Initially, international reaction to the Israeli strike was uniformly negative. The UN Security Council passed a unanimous resolution condemning it as a “clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of international conduct.” True to form, the American and international media issued blistering criticisms. The New York Times wrote, “Israel’s sneak attack [...] was an act of inexcusable and short-sighted aggression” and the LA Times called it “State sponsored terrorism.” It wasn’t until Operation Desert Storm that it became obvious what an enormous favor Israel had done the world.) But this incredible morality in the planning of an attack – on what was perceived to be a mortal and existential threat – with the overarching goal of minimizing loss of life is a remarkable example of Judaism’s intense regard for the value of human life. Unsurprisingly, the source for our code of moral conduct is the Torah, and we find a similar example in this week’s Torah portion. I am often struck by how current events are usually so very relevant to the Torah portion of the week, and this week’s Torah reading is a prime example of this. In this week’s reading we find our forefather Jacob preparing for war with his brother Eisav. We must be mindful that Eisav was the ancestor of Amalek – his grandson – and the historical archenemy of the Jewish people. In addition, he was the progenitor of the nation of Edom – which eventually developed into the nation of Rome. The Romans destroyed the second Holy Temple and sent the Jewish people into exile, one that has lasted to this very day. Thus, this confrontation between the brothers foreshadows thousands of years of continual conflict. However, our forefather Jacob also showed his children the proper way to prepare for and participate in war. When Jacob is informed that his brother Eisav is marching toward him with a troop of 400 armed men and murderous intent the Torah states: | 
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